Ch 55: Daily Farm Life After Returning from Interstellar

Nurture

Two days after the festival, Su Chen and his wife returned to the city, and after seeing them off, the Su family returned to its usual tranquility.

Father Su divided the money from selling lychees in half: one part for Su Mu and the other for Su Chen.

When Su Chen saw the bank card that his father handed to him, he was unusually silent. After a while, he pushed the card back and wiped his face. He said, “Dad, you should keep this money for yourself. I can’t help with the household expenses, so how can I accept this card? I still have the five million that my sister gave me last time.”

After receiving the money from his sister, Su Chen used part of it to pay off car and house loans, and invested the rest with good returns. Most of the money was still in the bank. He and his wife planned to buy a smaller apartment. The current real estate market was changing rapidly, and in a first-tier city like Muyun, property prices were stable.

Father Su directly handed the bank card to his son and patted his shoulder. “Chen Chen, living in the city is expensive. You should take this money. Your wife is pregnant, and you have more responsibilities. There are still plenty of lychees on the mountain. I’ll leave the remaining money for your sister. You two can split it.”

After thinking for a moment, Su Chen finally said, “Dad, just hold onto the card for now.”

All the opportunities they had were brought by his sister. Even the lychees on the mountain were related to her. As an older brother, he had already gained a lot from the five million his sister gave him. He felt he couldn’t take advantage of his family anymore.

Father Su more or less understood his thoughts. Accepting the money felt burdensome to him, crossing his own personal threshold.

In the end, he took the bank card back, “Alright, if you ever need it in the future, just ask me.”

“Okay.”

Su Mu was unaware of the conversation between her father and brother. After a couple of days of rest, she started to get busy again.

Some of the vegetables from the initial twenty-acre field had already been harvested and needed replanting. As the weather grew hotter, they focused on planting heat-resistant varieties like celery, edamame, green beans, and cauliflower. Radishes could be planted all year round, so Su Mu planted over an acre of them.

The replanting area wasn’t large. There were still gradually maturing vegetables in the field, and the water spinach had been harvested several times but was still growing rapidly. The same was true for angled luffa, pumpkin, bitter gourd, and even chili peppers, which had high yields, continuous flowering, and continuous fruiting.

As for the hundred-acre vegetable field, it had been transplanted for nearly a month and was growing well. They estimated that they would start harvesting by the end of June.

Although Su Mu entrusted the management and watering to Grandma Li and the others, she still visited the field occasionally to keep track of things, to ensure that everything was going well and to inspect the work of the elders. So far, she was quite satisfied with the progress.

There wasn’t a single weed in the field, and the soil remained moist.

Because the wild vegetables were popular among the city dwellers, Su Mu specifically instructed them to preserve the wild vegetables while weeding. Grandma Li and the others followed her instructions.

After inspecting the field, she went up the mountain.

After more than half a month of harvesting, the lychee orchard had already picked half of the crop. Based on the daily picking rate, there would be another half month or so before they were all sold out.

However, the hundred-acre plot of land where the villagers originally planted corn had now grown, and the variety was white sticky corn. When the lychees were sold out, the corn would be ready for harvest. After the corn was harvested, it would be time for peanut harvesting.

One crop after another, just to ensure that customers always have something to buy.

At this moment, Father Su was also feeding the chickens and ducks in the lychee orchard. While the chickens and ducks were in a free-range state, relying solely on insects and wild plants wouldn’t satisfy their hunger. They needed some extra corn and old vegetable leaves. As they grew bigger, their appetites increased significantly.

Every day, Father Su would bring a cart full of food to feed them.

Seeing Su Mu’s figure, he smiled and asked, “Mu Mu, why did you come?”

“I came to check on them. Dad, can the chickens and ducks be eaten now?”

“Weren’t they well-fed the past few days? How did they become hungry again?” Father Su chuckled. His daughter was great in every way, but she loved eating. She could turn anything into a culinary masterpiece.

Su Mu wasn’t embarrassed and admitted openly, “I’m craving it. And it’s not just me, even Gu Shi and the others want to eat. They want to taste the roast chicken and duck you make.”

“Let’s talk about it after they come back. There’s still plenty of meat in the fridge.”

With the promise, Su Mu wasn’t in a hurry to wait a few more days. Rolling up her sleeves, she helped her father scatter the vegetable leaves on the ground, and the chickens and ducks eagerly pecked at them.

She also brought a small bucket to the stream and filled it with water, pouring two buckets into a stone trough. This way, the chickens and ducks could drink water when they were thirsty.

After the chickens and ducks finished eating and went back into their wooden house, Father Su locked the wooden door, and then the father and daughter left the lychee orchard.

Standing on the tricycle, the stone road was a bit bumpy, but the slow pace of the small vehicle, accompanied by the evening breeze, made her feel extremely comfortable.

While waiting for Gu Shi to come back, she went to a neighboring city. There were many large fruit and flower nurseries in that city. The seedlings there were of good quality, and Su Mu personally selected many fruit seedlings. She also ordered over a dozen varieties of roses.

She asked Gu Shi if he needed her to help purchase some seedlings, and he agreed.

Actually, the climate in Muyun City was very suitable for growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers. However, as a big city with a developed service industry, agricultural cultivation had been somewhat neglected. There wasn’t even a medium-sized seedling nursery.

Su Mu also visited a well-known local flower market, which was a sea of flowers. Various types of flowers were neatly arranged, competing in their beauty. The best part was that the prices were quite reasonable; you could buy a beautiful bouquet for only ten yuan.

Luckily, her willpower was strong enough not to let her empty her wallet completely.

However, she still bought quite a few orchids. Among the more expensive flowers today, orchids were undoubtedly the best.

The service industry was quite attentive nowadays. She paid two-thirds of the deposit, and the shop would use express delivery to send her the flowers and plants she bought, and she would pay the remaining one-third after receiving the goods.

This city was also well-known for its mushrooms. Su Mu bought quite a few dried mushrooms and also purchased some mushroom spores, planning to bring them back home to scatter on the back hill.

After successfully completing her task this time, she spent another two days exploring the city, experiencing a different kind of leisurely life.

Cities adjacent to each other would inevitably influence each other’s culture to some extent. This city had many similarities with Muyun City, and Su Mu didn’t feel out of place.

Considering it a trip, her mindset had broadened, and she returned home feeling relaxed.

By mid-June, the packages she had purchased from the neighboring city started to arrive one after another.

The tree pits around the new house had already been prepared. As soon as the seedlings arrived, Su Mu and her parents planted them. With the addition of these saplings, the surroundings finally didn’t look as empty.

She had also evenly spread grass seeds, and they would probably start sprouting in a few days.

The new house was almost ready for occupancy. Mother Su had picked a date – the 16th day of the fifth lunar month – to move in.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Most of Su Mu’s belongings had already been transferred to the new house, making the moving process easier when the time came.

Before it was time to move, Zhao Lei called her and informed her that the customized materials for the flower house had been sent over via logistics. He said that he would bring the construction team to Huayuan Village in a couple of days to start building the flower house.

Upon receiving the call, Su Mu immediately became busy.

She needed to confirm the rental situation with each villager and arrange accommodations and meals for the construction team, who would be staying in villagers’ homes.

Before long, everything was prepared, and they were only waiting for the construction team to arrive.

On the other hand, there was still no news about Gu Shi and the others returning. Su Mu felt hesitant to ask, as they had a “we’ll talk when we meet” agreement. If she asked, it would seem like she was being impatient.

It was strange how her role had shifted. She used to be the one taking the initiative, but now she was being reserved.

Women’s fickleness wasn’t just a saying.

**

One day after the seedlings were planted, there was a light rain.

When Su Mu woke up in the morning, the sky was overcast, and the courtyard seemed gloomy. Only the flowers under the fence were blooming brightly, their petals not scattered by the rain.

This kind of weather was ideal for nurturing new plant varieties. The rain would suppress the scent of the new plants. Since there was no one at home at the moment – her father was feeding the chickens and ducks in the lychee orchard, and her mother was visiting villagers – she was the only one at home.

With this in mind, she put on a raincoat, took a small hoe, and grabbed a few empty flowerpots. She went to the area under the fence, dug up several different species of flowers from the Asteraceae family, and placed them, roots and all, into the pots.

Su Mu made several trips to move the materials into her room. The second floor was relatively private. After all, if her parents came back early and saw her acting a bit strange, it wouldn’t be good.

The methods for cultivating new plant varieties were generally similar. It involved combining and arranging the optimal genes of each flower. The process was unpredictable; it mainly depended on which genes dominated.

Once she ensured relative safety, Su Mu began to activate her plant ability. The essence of the flowers was extracted and suspended in the air, where it intermingled. A colorful and radiant light bloomed, accompanied by a rich floral scent that scattered in the wind.

Perhaps due to the larger amount of material this time, it took Su Mu over half an hour to cultivate a seed the size of a soybean. Unlike Fairy Lips that would directly take root in the soil, this seed slowly settled in her palm.

She had expended quite a bit of her supernatural energy, nearly overstretching her spiritual aura.

After the seed fell into her palm, it seemed to establish a connection with her. Su Mu closed her eyes and earnestly sensed its emotions.

After a while, a brilliant light shone in her eyes. Surprisingly, the seed had grown into a large Asteraceae flower, as big as a soybean. How big was it? The flower could even grow to the size of a small pavilion.

No wonder it didn’t fall into the pot; the pot wouldn’t have been large enough.

Although she hadn’t seen the flower bloom yet, Su Mu was certain that it would give her a big surprise.

After tidying up the room, she opened an umbrella and went to the back of the new house. She planted the seed not far from the house.

As soon as it touched the ground, the seed rapidly took root and sprouted. In just a few breaths, the stem grew taller than her, and it showed no sign of stopping.

Green leaves unfurled and extended from the stem. Seeing the large leaves, Su Mu compared them to herself and lowered her head, clicking her tongue. Surprisingly, they were almost the same size!

The leaves numbered around four or five, and the top started to bulge.

Su Mu looked up, and the flower bud was getting larger. It was about the size of a fitness ball, but in an elliptical shape, and its colors began to gradually emerge.

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